Kotter’s 8 Step Model for Leading Change

Leading the change is not easy across an organization and often we come across challenges spread across multiple dimensions- People, Process, Methods/Tools. Kotter researched across varied organizations going through change and concluded 8 step model to transform the organizations. In this article, I have tried to make an attempt to discuss Kotter’s 8 step model for leading the change. Kotter’s Model was focused on important factors like communication of goals and objectives across the organization, ‘need of change’, and sustaining the changed behavior:

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Kotter’s 8 Step Model are [1] [2]:

1. Create a Sense of Urgency: Understanding the need for change and studying the environment like current strength, competitiveness, potential opportunity is crucial before bringing any big change across the organization. The organization should make everyone understand the need for change and feel the urgency to work towards it. If we don’t feel the need for change, we will never try to change ourselves.
2. Build a guiding coalition: Kotter emphasized forming a task force with the aim to work effectively together as a team to bring change. Forming a team of effective people who coordinate and drive the change across the organization can make a huge difference. Without volunteers who embrace and practice the change, it is unlikely to bring the change.
3. Form a strategic vision and initiatives: A team without vision is of no use and Kotter realized in his research that building a vision for the organization is very crucial for successful transformation. It is important to know how the future could be different from the current state or the past. It is also of importance not to just talk about the vision but also to enact to bring everyone onboarded on the vision.
4. Enlist a Volunteer Army: Bringing the change needs people to understand its need and volunteering to bring the change. Kotter emphasized the action and allowing the organization to empower people to act and experiment.
5. Enable Action by Removing Barriers: This is an important stage where everyone in the organization work towards the same goal of bringing efficiency in process, structure, and culture. The organization should focus on enablement for action and transparency so people can freely express their worries and issues.
6. Generate short-term wins. Focussing on short team wins will generate a positive environment and feeling of accomplishment. Planning achievable goals gives an opportunity to think about what we can do right now with a budget available without overspending.
7. Sustain Acceleration: First win is important to realize the changed structure, system, and process. It is important that we sustain the changes until we get closer to the reality of the vision. Relentless Change and improvements are part of the journey towards the vision.
8. Institute Change: Sustaining the changed structure, system, and process is as important as the first step in Kotter’s Model. Until the old habits and ways of working get obsolete it is critical for an organization’s success to continue the pace of change and institutionalize the new approaches. One way to onboard everyone in an organization is to connect the success with changed behavior/system/culture.

SAFe adapts Kotter’s 8 Step Model in a very cohesive and comprehensive manner. Join me in the upcoming SAFe class to discover more: Explore www.dailyagile.com.

References:

1. Kotter, J. (1995). Leading change: Why transformation efforts fail. Harvard Business Review, January 2007, 96–103
2. The 8-Step Process for Leading Change, https://www.kotterinc.com/8-steps-process-for-leading-change/

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